Charles james



(No Model.) 3 sheets sheet 1.

0. J. APPLETON. KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 581,253. 'PatentedApr. 20, 1897.

Illlllllllllllllll||I|l|llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIllllllllllllllllllll (No Model.) a Sheets-Sheet 2.

'0. J. APPLETON. KNITTING MAOHINB.

No. 581,253. Patented Apr. 20, 1897.

(No Model.) 3Shets-Sheet 3.

0. JLAPPLETON.

KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 581,253. Patented Apr. 20, 1897.

view of the machine.

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES JAMES APPLETON, OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,253, dated April 20, 1897.

Application filed May 14,1895. Serial No. 549,277. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may OOH/06771,.

Be it known that I, CHARLES JAMES AP- PLETON,of Long Island City,county of Queens, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knitting Machinery; and I .do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which Figure l is a section taken diametrically through the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan or top Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the machine. Fig. 4 is a detail drawing of needle-slots, holddowns, and needles. Fig. 5 is a drawing of portion of chain, show ing how the horizontal needles are put into operation.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of my invention is to produce on a circular plain-knittin g machine a full-fashioned hose, sleeves, or drawers.

The principle of my invention is to add extra needles automatically to a circular plainknittingmachine. Theseneedlesbeingadded ona different plane will take a loop and produce a new Wale, thus increasing the size of the fabric.

An important new feature is that the needles will advance and secure the first loop. Then they will remain out of action until the machine has knit one or more courses, when they will resume and continue knitting, thus closing up the eyelet-holes usual when a new needle is put into operation, as will be hereinafter explained.

The following description will enable others skilled in the art to understand one practical mode of carrying it into effect.

a is the bed-plate, and attached to its upper side is the needle-cylinder b, secured to the bed-plate a by screws a a.

c c are the needles, located in suitable grooves cut into the outer face of needle-cylinder Z). On the upper edge of needle-cylinder Z) and between each needle-slot are out horizontal slots or grooves to receive the holddowns or Web-holders d, which receive their motion from a groove and cams located on the upper edge of cam-ring e.

e is the cam-ring, which revolves around needle-cylinder b and receives its motion from driving-gear f, which corresponds with teeth out into the lower edge of cam-ring e, the same being located to revolve in suitable bearings attached to and forming a part of bed- .The grooves are cut on the inner under side of needle-plate g.

h is the cam-plate for actuating the needleplate needles g '51s the yarn-guide, secured to the upper side of cam-plate h and placed in such a position to feed the yarn to and in the hooks of cylinder-needles c.

j is a roller attached to cam-cylinder e by suitable screws for the purpose of actuating ratchet k. This is accomplished by means of a slidej and pawl It, which is attached to slide j In the revolution of cam-cylinder the roller j will strike against the slide 7' and move it outward. The pawl Zc,being attached to slide J will come in contact with one of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 7c, situated on the same stud, and revolving with it is a pinion 7o the whole being held in a perpendicular position by the bed-plates a and bracket Z. Pinion will engage with pinion k which is attached to a perpendicular shaft Z and is held in position by bracket Z. Said bracket Z is secured to bed-plate a by means of screws. At the upper end of shaftZ is secured asprocket-Wheel Z giving motion to chain Z said chain Z turning sprocket-Wheel Z which is attached to a perpendicular shaft on. The pinion m will connect with and give motion to pinion m which is held in position by perpendicular shaft m which in its turn drives the chain Z and sprocket-wheels Z and Z thus completing the movement of chain and sprockets, their purpose being to elevate the tails of the needles 9 so as to throw them into action.

A rotary motion is given to cam-plate h by the gear on the outer edge of cam-ring 6 through the medium of perpendicular shaft 6 and pinions 72. b Attached to cam-ring e is cam j, which will in each revolution engage and depress the pin 71, attached to the upper end of sliding frame a, to which is secured the pawl n engaging ratchet n and turning sprocket-wheel a, the whole secured on a sleeve around the driving-shaft n Secured to the inn er end of shaft 11 is the driving-gear f. On the sprocket-wheel n is the chain 0, and resting on the chain is the catch-pin 0, which is held in contact with the chain by spring 0 In the upward movement caused by cam-pieces on chain 0 the pin 0 will engage with the slide 7' and arrest its motion, for the purpose of allowing the chain to remain stationary a given number of revolutions of the machine, and the slide 7' will, when released from contact with pin 0, return to its position by the aid of the springj In Fig. 4 I show a detail view of a portion of the machine, including a part of needlecylinder h, cam-ring c, needle-plate g, camplate h, holddowns d, cylinder-needle c, and needle-plate needles g.

In Fig. 5 we have a detail view of the back of needle-slots in needle-plate g, showing a portion of sprocket-chain Z with its cams for raising the tails of the needles and the depression between the cams .90 for permitting the lowering of the needle for one or more revolutions, so as to close up the eyelet-holes. The chain Z will continue on and raise the needle again, allowing it to knit its wale until the article is finished.

In Figs. 1 and 3 we have the shipping and stop-motion device, 0' 7' being the brackets attached to the bed-plate a. 1" is the shipperrod, which is held in position to slide by the brackets r 0' around the shipper-rod r, and between the brackets r 'r is the spring r Attached to the inner end of the shipper-rod r is a plate r which rests upon the chain 0', and when lifted by the pin 1, Fig. 1, it will lift the shipper-rod 0* until the offset is raised so that the rod 0" can spring outward by the action of spring r thus causing the machine to stop.

The operation of the machine is as follows: \Vork being upon the perpendicular needles and the horizontal needles being out of operation, a given quantity of knitting can be knit on the perpendicular needles, and by the action of sprocket-chain Z a needle on either side of the center needle will be thrown into action by rising so that the shanks will come in contact with cam and cam-groove h. The needle will advance and secure a loop on the revolution of cam-plate h and the tail of the needle will drop to the depressions between cams 50 Fig. 5, on sprocket-chain Z The machine will then make another revolution and knit a course on the upper side of loop drawn by the horizontal needles. In the next revolution of the machine the needles will again rise and go in to action and remain in operation, knitting a new wale, thus increasing the size of the fabric. This will be continued according to the size of fabric desired,

two needles being put into operation simul tancously. The pair of horizontal needles being thrown into action according to the explanation aforesaid, the eyelet-hole n the fabric will be closed and pin 0 will rise by the action of cam on chain 0 and come in contact with and arrest the slidej The pawl 70, being attached to slide 7' will remain out of operation until by the action of cam on chain 0 the cam-pin 0, resting thereon, will drop and release the slide j*, which will be thrown into position by the spring 3' which is pressing outwardly against pin 7 Fig. 1. This operation will be continued until enough needles, according to the wish of the operator, have been thrown into action. Then the pin 0 will rise again and keep slide j out of operation until the article being kn it is'finished. Then the pin 1' will lift the plate 7' and ship the rod 7' by the spring r thus stopping the machine. The loops will then be thrown off the horizontal needles and they will be thrown out of action and the chains Z will be put in position for work.

The making of knit goods on horizontal and perpendicular needles is not new, as this is the mode employed for rib-knitting, but I believe I am the first to knit a plain fabric withhorizontal and perpendicular needles combined. I do not therefore confine myself to the precise form and arrangement of devices herein set forth for effecting said object, as other devices equivalent thereto may be can ploycd. Neither do I confine myself to the plane of the needles, as they can be placed at different angles and produce the same result.

Having described one practical mode of carrying my invention into effect, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is--- 1. In a circular-knittin g machine, the combination of the vertical needle-cylinder, a vertical cam-rin g, cylindenneedles supported by said needle cylinder with their hooks turn ed outward, horizontal needles with their hooks turned upward, a horizontal needleplate lying outside of and above said needlecylinder for supporting said horizontal needles with their hook ends projecting inward and in position to pass between the vertical needles, a cam-plate supported above said horizontal needle plate for operating said horizontal needles, cam-chains supported by said needle-plate on edge and around the periphery of the needle-supporting portion of the said plate, and provided with cams to raise the horizontal needles successively into action, and means for driving the respective parts of the machine, substantially as described.

2. In a circular-knitting machine, the combination of the canrcylinder having at its lower projecting flange a roller, a slide situated in the bed-plate so that-the motion outward is given by the roller and returned inward by a spring at each revolution of the cam-cylinder, a pawl located on the upper side of the slide arranged to come in contact with the teeth of a ratchet-wheel at each out ward movement of the slide, a vertical shaft,

a ratchet-wheel fixed at the lower end thereof driven by the downward movement of the aforesaid pawl, a needleplate, needles carried thereby, sprocket-wheels also carried by the said plate, chains carried and driven by said sprocket-wheels, intermediate pinions for conveying motion from the ratchet-wheel to the sprocket-wheels, said chains throwing the needles into and out of action, substantially as described.

3. In a circular-knitting machine, the combination of the vertical slide, a pin attached to the upper end thereof, means for depressing and raising the slide, a pawl carried by the slide, a ratchet-wheel operated by the pawl attached to the slide at each downward motion thereof, a sprocket-wheel attached to the said ratchetwheel and rotating with it, a pin carried by the bed-plate, a chain carried and moved by the sprocket-wheel provided with cams on its face that at stated times will engage with the lower end of the pin and raise it up through the bed-plate, this bedplate having a suitable bearing to carry pin and slide, a pawl-carrying slide situated in the bed-plate and a ratchet-wheel actuated thereby, the said slide having on its under side a catch to engage with the pin which will arrest its motion, and means for driving the said pawl-carrying slide, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the needle-plate provided with needle-grooves, the needles carried by said plate, sprocket-chains provided with cams supportedaround the periphery of said plate and adapted to throw the needles into and out of operation and means for supporting parts, substantially as described.

5. A knitting-machine for knitting a circu-' lar fabric of varying diameter, embodying in its construction a vertical needle cylinder and reciprocatory needles therein; a horizontal needle-support and reciprocatory needles therein; both sets of needles having their hooks arranged to draw loops in the fabric in the same direction, and the two sets of needles being constructed and arranged to cooperate in the production of a knit fabric; means for actuating the needles to perform knitting; and means, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, cooperatively connected with the machine-operatin g means for acting upon the horizontal needles to automatically bring them into and allow them to be withdrawn from operation in predetermined order or time to add new wales or lines of stitches to the fabric.

6. A knitting-machine for knitting a circular fabric of varying diameter, embodying in its construction a vertical needle-cylinder and reciprocatory needles therein a horizontal needle-support and reciprocatory needles therein; both sets of needles having their hooks arranged to draw loops in the fabric in the same direction, and the two sets of needles being constructed and arranged to cooperate in the production of a knit fabric; means for actuating the needles to perform knitting; and sprocket pattern-chains provided with cams m cooperatively connected with the machine-operating means for acting upon the horizontal needles to automatically bring them into and allow them to be withdrawn from operation in predetermined order or time to add new wales or lines of stitches to the fabric.

7. A knitting-machine for knitting a circular fabric of varying diameter, embodying in its construction a vertical needle-cylinder and reciprocatory needles therein; a horizontal needle-support and reciprocatory needles therein; both sets of needles having their hooks arranged to drawloops in the fabric in the same direction, and the two sets of needles being constructed and arranged to cooperate in the production of a knit fabric; means for actuating the needles to perform knitting; means, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, cooperatively connected with the machine-operating means for acting upon the horizontal needles to automatically bring them into and allow them to be withdrawn from operation in predetermined order or time, and holddowns cooperating with both sets of needles, as described and for the purpose explained.

CHARLES JAMES APPLETON.

Witnesses:

HELEN PERRY NELsoN, FRANK L. OREEsY. 

